Dashamsa: reading the D10 chart

Dashamsa, also spelled Dasamsa and displayed as D10, divides each sign into ten portions of 3°. It is traditionally used to examine work, authority and public activity alongside the main birth chart.

It is not the tenth-house cell of D1 expanded into a separate diagram. D10 has its own sign assignments and its own lagna.

Sign assignment

For an odd-numbered natal sign, the sequence starts from that sign. For an even-numbered sign, it starts from the ninth sign counted inclusively. Successive 3° portions proceed through the zodiac.

In a schematic example, 4° Taurus lies in its second D10 portion. Taurus is even-numbered, so its first portion starts at Capricorn and the second goes to Aquarius. The natal position remains in Taurus; Aquarius is its D10 sign.

Reading the chart

Locate D10 under Divisions or in the Point-by-division comparison. Count houses from the D10 lagna. Keep the D1 tenth house, its lord and the D10 placement separate before considering any relationship among them.

Dasha context is another layer. A D10 sign does not determine the date at which a person gets a job or promotion. Nor does a single placement identify a profession, employer or salary.

Birth-time sensitivity

Each D10 portion spans only 3°. A small change in the ascendant's natal degree can change D10 lagna even when D1 lagna is stable. The general uncertainty panel does not exhaustively check every D10 boundary.

Use the birth-time guide before drawing a fine distinction, and the divisional-chart directory to compare the purpose and scope of the other charts.

See the chart and its tables on the Kundli page.